Ancient and medieval treasures
Medun, an ancient fortress built by the Illyrians (4th-3rd centuries BC), still has cyclopean stone blocks from its original walls. Kotor and Ulcinj also preserve vestiges of these monumental ancient fortifications. The checkerboard mosaics, geometric and plant motifs found at Risan bear witness to the decorative refinement of the Romans, while roads (Via Anagnasti) and bridges (Mostanica stone bridge) illustrate their mastery of civil engineering. Duklja is home to numerous Roman remains (triumphal arch, temple dedicated to Diana, columns and capitals). There are also two early Christian basilicas of Byzantine inspiration. But it is in Kotor that the first cathedral of the country is located... which today serves as the foundation of thechurch of Saint Mary of the River. Don't miss the 6th century baptismal font. The Montenegrin Middle Ages were marked by religion, oscillating between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, with the two currents sometimes being celebrated in the same church, which then had two different altars. The first Catholic buildings have the sobriety of the Romanesque, tinged with a Byzantine influence, like the church of St. Anne in Kotor with the polychromy of its red and blond stones, its dome and its blind arches. The steep slopes of the mountainous regions give rise to troglodyte religious architecture, of which the chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin in Ostrog is the finest example. These regions are also home to imposing monasteries, veritable bulwarks of the faith. The Orthodox monasteries of the Pastrovici hills have a difficult to access location, therefore strategic, and a functional organization divided between the spaces reserved for the monks(konak) and those related to the exploitation of the domains that surround them. Among the most astonishing, do not miss the monastery of Podostrog protected by high walls and a watchtower. The medieval cities are also protected by imposing ramparts, like those watching over Kotor and its typically medieval urbanism made of a tangle of alleys, alleys and squares. All these fortifications were reinforced in the 15th century. A real crenellated stone snake, the ramparts of Kotor imposed their 20 m high and sometimes 15 m wide silhouette on the city. This century is also marked by the reinforcement of the power of Venice whose fortresses, like Haj-Nehaj, start a renewal of the military architecture.
Venetian and Ottoman heritage
The Serenissima is making its mark on the Montenegrin coastline through innovative military architecture. The fortifications of the Stato da Mar, classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, protected the sea routes and ports of the Adriatic thanks to new bastioned complexes known as alla moderna, adapted to modern artillery. The "Venetian" cities can thus prosper in the shelter of powerful walls. The imprint of the city of the Doges is all the greater because it was the Venetians who took charge of rebuilding the cities shaken by the earthquake of 1667. With their piano nobile (noble floor) consisting of a central hall around which the other rooms are symmetrically organized, their finely worked balconies, their porches with bosses, their patios, their arcades, terraces and belvederes, the palaces of the time give Montenegro the appearance of Renaissance and Baroque Venice. Perast is home to an astonishing number of these splendours stamped with the lion of Saint Mark. Among the most beautiful, don't miss the Visković Palace and its beautiful loggia, the Brajković Palace and its three-bay Palladian windows, and especially the Bujović Palace with its five arcades. In Kotor, the Bizanti and Pima palaces proudly display Venetian splendour with their patios and interior courtyards and their decorative wealth (volutes, polychromy, arcatures...). The large residences on the seafront also have private access to the sea. The latter can be a simple overhang in the sea(pontas) or a pier in the shape of an L drawing a kind of small port sheltered from the currents(mandraci). The Venetian influence can also be seen in the religious architecture. The domes of the Church of Our Lady of the Reef in Perast still bear the Byzantine influence, while the Church of Prcanj, with its monumental staircase, is a masterpiece of the Baroque. The campanile is one of the great symbols of Venetian power, as the 55-metre-high campanile of theChurch of St Nicholas in Perast clearly illustrates. These religious "towers" are matched by the clock towers. One of the most beautiful is to be seen in Kotor. Note its summit loggia and its solid ashlar silhouette. In the shadow of the Serenissima, the Ottomans also left their mark in towns like Ulcinj with its bustling bazaar and hammam. But the most obvious witnesses of the Ottoman presence are of course the mosques, most of which still have beautiful wooden minarets. Among the most beautiful, do not miss the old mosque (Stara Dzamija) in Plav and especially the superb Hussein Pasha Boljanić mosque in Pljevlja with its portico with columns, its minaret, its dome and especially its rich decoration made of stucco and ceilings with muqarnas (stalactites stylized).
Modern and contemporary architecture
The Austro-Hungarians left behind above all military evidence of their presence. They restored the existing buildings, such as the citadel of Budva, and erected new structures, such as the triptych composed of the fortresses of Traste, Gorazda and Vrmac. The latter impresses with its irregular pentagonal shape, and its casemates and firing platforms made of stone and concrete. Montenegro was given a new lease of life by the building kings Nikola I and Petar II. They contributed to the modernization of the country's infrastructure and developed new urban plans where symmetry and order reign. See the large tree-lined avenues radiating from the central square of Nikšić. Admire the city plan of Cetinje with wide avenues lined with houses with elegant coloured facades aligned to perfection. The city is also home to beautiful palaces adorned with the trappings of eclecticism. Among the most beautiful: the Blue Palace with its beautiful symmetrical façade decorated with red pilasters topped by elaborate metal capitals, and the Biljanda Palace with its fortress-like silhouette. Novi Bar, a popular resort for the crown, also bears the mark of this eclecticism, as shown by King Nikola's palace, which looks like an Italian villa. The astonishing French embassy in Cetinje, with its Art Nouveau decoration signed by Auguste Perret and Paul Gaudet, announces modernity... of which the Budečevica bridge, an architectural feat of concrete, is one of the great representatives. Contrary to popular belief, the socialist era was not just about large, soulless concrete complexes. It also opened the way to a formal freedom resulting in a radically pure architecture, oscillating between functionalism and expressionism, particularly in the great memorial buildings. Among the latter, do not miss the large concrete V of the Ulcinj Freedom Monument, the triangular Kolasin memorial (Spomen-Dom), or the large concrete rose window of the monument to the Fallen Soldiers in Nikšić. The city is home to another great symbol of the Soviet era: the House of the Revolution, a concrete behemoth with imposing projecting volumes. Left unfinished, the building is now the subject of rehabilitation projects. After the 1979 earthquake, the country launched major restoration campaigns for its heritage... some of whose treasures are now threatened by the development of mass tourism, which is reflected in the creation of large hotel complexes and other marinas, such as Porto Montenegro. Fortunately, other projects have chosen sober lines and a more harmonious integration with the environment. This sustainable vision is found in the UN headquarters in Montenegro, a self-sufficient building with very modern lines but inspired by vernacular architecture. A clever balancing act represented by the very aerial Most Milenijum, the amazing cable-stayed bridge of the capital Podgorica!
Vernacular riches
The calimeras of the Bojana river, fishermen's houses on stilts with their suspended nets, are nowadays next to pretty wooden houses looking like chalets but... on stilts! The fishermen's villages of the coastline, for their part, preserve a Mediterranean atmosphere where the light colours of the stone houses are enhanced by the red of their terra cotta tiles, the arbours populated with vines, the beautiful wrought iron balconies and the balustrades decorated with bougainvilleas. Around the lake of Skadar, you can admire beautiful stone-built and tiled long houses. The oldest ones are on one level, while the most recent ones are on two levels supported by arcades, thus creating an outdoor space, a place of gathering and conviviality. In the central part of the country, you will find many small houses with thatched roofs protecting a local stone structure. In these rural areas, you will also find gummo, large stone circles marking the threshing floor and serving as a place for meetings and celebrations. The remote eastern regions are home to amazing fortified houses called kulla (derived from the Turkish word kule meaning house). Solidly anchored on ashlar bases with thick walls and no openings, they are built on three or four wooden floors. In parallel to these tower-houses, you will also discover the traditional houses recognizable by their hipped wooden shingle roof. They have a masonry foundation (cellar), a stone base reinforced with solid wooden strips, while external staircases lead to the upper floors, whose walls are made of a wooden frame filled with clay, cob and straw and covered with plaster. The houses in the snowy regions can be recognized by their compact structure of stone and wood and their narrow gable roofs with a strong double slope to prevent the snow from piling up. Finally, the mountains are also home to katun, a term that refers to both grazing lands and huts built by shepherds, whether they are simple circular huts made of straw and wood or more solid stone structures. Today, these katun are at the heart of a thriving ecotourism industry, as demonstrated by the Eko Katun Stavna with its ten comfortable cottages. Another way to discover Montenegro!
